Pete Smith Trailers
Added Attractions: The Hollywood Shorts Story TrailerThe Fall Guy TrailerAnimals in Action Trailer
Born Peter Schmidt in New York City, Pete Smith got a job after graduating business college with The Player magazine and later with Billboard magazine. That led to his being hired as a publicist for Famous Players-Lasky and Artcraft Pictures, and he was later appointed publicity director at Paramount Pictures. Director Marshall Neilan hired Smith to be the publicist for his own production company, and Smith left New York for Hollywood. After Neilan's company closed, Smith freelanced for a short period before being hired by MGM in 1925 as the head of its publicity department, a position he held until 1930.
The job that really brought him recognition, however, was his producing, writing and narrating a series of shorts known as "Pete Smith Specialties" for MGM. The one-reelers covered just about every subject imaginable, from the animal world to the latest technology to how to handle annoying patrons in movie theaters, all delivered with Smith's trademark wry, bemused narration. Many of the later shorts were written and directed by actor Dave O'Brien, using the name David Barclay. Sixteen entries in the series were nominated for Oscars, and two of them won. The series came to an end in 1954, though there were enough made to continue releasing into 1955.
Smith's later years were plagued by bad health, and he spent more and more time being hospitalized. In 1979, with his health deteriorating rapidly, he committed suicide by jumping out of the window of his ninth-floor hospital room. He was 86 years old.
Most Popular Pete Smith Trailers
Total trailers found: 156
22 May 1937
A man writes a check for $1,000 to cover a gambling debt. The problem is that he doesn't have enough money in his bank account to cover it.
04 May 1934
The friendship between two orphans endures even though they grow up on opposite sides of the law and fall in love with the same woman.
06 October 1939
Five years after he narrated STRIKES AND SPARES, Pete Smith returns to the subject of bowling with two pros: Andy Varipapa, who threw some trick shots in the earlier movie and Ned Day, who demonstrates proper form and technique.
20 October 1934
This short features professional bowler Andy Varipapa. He first shows the correct way to grip a bowling ball and the proper form for delivering the ball down the alley.
27 March 1936
Re-enactment of how the 726-carat Jonker diamond was discovered in South Africa in 1905 by the family of Jacobus Jonker; how it was sold to Harry Winston; and how it was cut by Lazarre Kaplan.
01 March 1941
A 3-D short subject in which the narrator goes to a creepy old house in search of his missing aunt. There he encounters the Frankenstein monster, a witch, a wooden Indian who comes to life, and assorted other monsters and frightening characters, all of whom manage to throw something toward the camera.
01 January 1945
Frank Morgan is hired to put together a movie using odds and ends from the MGM vaults. He does so by splicing together a string of completely unrelated short subjects and musical numbers, interspersed with a repeated loop of a scene from some melodrama.
12 November 1932
Swing High is a 1932 American Pre-Code short documentary film directed by Jack Cummings. In 1932, it was nominated for an Academy Award at the 5th Academy Awards for Best Short Subject (Novelty).
26 December 1942
This short film shows U.S. Marines in training at a number of unidentified bases, with a focus on hand-to-hand combat.
26 December 1935
After the audience is instructed how to use the 3-D glasses they received, demonstrations of three-dimensional films are presented.
08 July 1944
This Pete Smith Specialty short takes a humorous look at the inconsiderate pests whose annoying habits make enjoying a movie impossible.
11 May 1946
This humorous Pete Smith Specialty short looks around various studios on a film lot.
06 May 1950
This short looks at the following questions: How would you act as an expectant father? How many greeting cards are sold in the USA each year?
07 December 1935
La Fiesta de Santa Barbara is a 1935 American comedy short film directed by Louis Lewyn. It was nominated for an Academy Award at the 9th Academy Awards in 1936 for Best Short Subject (Color).
19 November 1942
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are stopped by narrator Pete Smith for the purpose of showing the audience how much wood and wood by-products the average person carries.
02 November 1946
This comedic Pete Smith Specialty short examines the folly of using "home remedies" for various ills.
07 December 1946
In this Pete Smith Specialty short, a wife endures the trials of being married to a husband with traits that drive her crazy.
08 August 1940
Questions and answers on various subjects, from Lady Godiva to the Panama Canal.
10 April 1954
In this Pete Smith Specialty short, a friendly do-gooder's good deeds backfire.
12 October 1940
In this Pete Smith Specialty short, Dr. Harold E. Edgerton demonstrates stroboscopic photography, which he helped develop.
08 April 1939
Modern meteorology and a hard-working government weather team put their science and organization to work as a cold front moves from Alaska toward the citrus groves of Southern California.
02 March 1935
This short film highlights the odd 1930s fad of playing baseball while riding donkeys.
24 October 1942
In this Pete Smith Specialty short, a new father experiences the trials and tribulations of fatherhood.
07 February 1948
In this Pete Smith Specialty short, a series of vignettes illustrate some ways that mothers-in-law irritate, and/or cause problems for, their son-in-law.
30 December 1941
In this Pete Smith Specialty comedic short, we see various ways a wife may unintentionally hold her husband back.
05 February 2002
The story of the short film from the beginning of the movies in the 1890s, when all movies were shorts, through the 1950s when short subjects virtually disappeared from theaters.
19 November 1938
An examination of the role played by dogs over the years in scientific research.
06 June 1936
This Sports Parade series entry follows the life of Dixie Dan, a harness racehorse, from birth through age three.
31 July 1943
This humorous short film shows how carelessness and accidents can harm the war effort, and steps on how to avoid them.
25 December 1948
Short film covering a variety of topics that folks may have wondered about.
22 March 1952
Pete Smith does his usual mocking observations while the overweight Maxine Gates goes through the trials and tribulations of losing weight.
29 August 1936
A dog accused of murdering sheep is brought to trial.
16 January 1938
A Pete Smith short that deals with the newly-created 3-D process.
19 February 1938
This short looks at the sport of rock climbing. A team of three men ascend a rock wall on Southern California's Tahquitz Rock (also known as Lily Rock) above Idyllwild.
23 September 1933
A chef helps a housewife cook a duck dinner that will not give her husband indigestion.
20 March 1947
This Pete Smith Specialty short demonstrates the uses of micro- and macrophotography. We see extreme closeups of the mechanical workings of a tiny wristwatch, the surface of a cat's tongue, and several insects.
08 June 1946
This short film presents an unusual Beverly Hills store called the Patio Shop, where trash is turned into art.
05 December 1953
A Pete Smith Specialty shorts series entry. Dave demonstrates a variety of household items and furniture which, while modern, is much more trouble than the progress is worth.
19 February 1944
A boogie-woogie piano introduces what purports to be a jitterbug lesson, starring prize winner Arthur Walsh, his partner, and then later various other couples.
28 February 1942
The trials and tribulations of a husband as his pregnant wife gets closer to the delivery date.
10 April 1943
Fala was the famous Scotch Terrier owned by Franklin Delano Roosevelt during his last two presidential terms.
29 May 1948
In this comedic Pete Smith Specialty short film, a homeowner experiences a series of mishaps while taking a day off from the office.
14 August 1937
The Green Bay Packers teach football tips.
30 March 1940
This Pete Smith Specialty short looks at the notion that a man chases a woman till he catches her. Who's really chasing whom?
05 March 1932
This short film presents several athletes preparing for the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California.
22 September 1934
This MGM Oddity features the 1933 National Football League champion Chicago Bears. The team demonstrates various plays, which are shown first in real time, then in slow motion.
27 August 1938
This Pete Smith Specialty short showcases former heavyweight boxing champion Max Baer with various sparring partners in the ring.
19 May 1939
A "Pete Smith Specialty" - a fairly serious look at radio hams in the usual jokey format. Shows aircraft using morse code.
06 February 1954
This comedic short looks at human foibles that lead to major aggravations.
17 December 1938
1938 short film starring Prudence Penny.
25 November 1944
Demonstrates how accidents happen when proper safety devices are neglected.
01 September 1950
In this comedic Pete Smith Specialty short, average housewife Mrs. George T. Hardnose's day is recalled.
08 December 1945
Two expert badminton players demonstrate how the best play the game, including some slick trick shots.
28 July 1934
A comic short filled with fake news and a fake movie trailer made up of clips from silent movies.
23 April 1932
This humorous short film shows various species of tropical fish at the Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco, California.
04 January 1936
Choreographer Dave Gould and his students demonstrate various tap dancing steps. Also featured are an adagio and Russian sword dancers.
12 October 1935
This short film focuses on how racehorses are trained.
18 May 1946
A series of questions testing one's knowledge of fun facts about horses and equestrian in general are asked.
11 March 1939
This Pete Smith Specialty offers a look at Marineland of Florida, featuring the various marine life on display there.
20 August 1932
This Pete Smith Sports Champion short visits Southern California where it quickly moves from orange orchards to the mountain snow playground at Big Pines L.
